I have the album, HMV have done themselves proud and its a fucking corker in every way possible and my first impressions are...........

CHRIST ON A BLUE BIKE!!!!!! Best album ever, I'll get into reasons why later when I've listened to it a few more times but some points so far,

1 - parts of the chorus in Tim Smith sound very similar to the bridge in Fire Up which can never be a band thing,
2 - Mazel Tov Cocktail intro sounds like Brown Sugar for the new millenium
3 - the title track is completely spasticated in the best possible way.
4 - Jacob Hansen should produce every album ever made, not just by the wildhearts I mean everyone.
5 - if you dont like this album then you're not right.

They really have exceeded themselves this time round.

Not sent from my fucking iphone.

The Wicked Mod of the South.

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the production on this is razor sharp. the band really suit the downtuning and it adds a real grunt to the sound. i think its more immediate than some reviewers have stated, although in fairness i would wonder how familiar the scribes are with the back catalogue. sure as god we are used to the odd curveball in a song and a challenge.

song wise the melodies and keyboards work well with the big downtuned riffs on the album. vocally i would say its Ginger's best outing yet and by far the best ive heard Ritch on an album. Scott and CJ sound great (i have always rated CJ as a vocalist anyway)

it sounds like The Wildhearts have hit their zone so to speak. defintiely their most mature and accomplished work to date. if this one doesnt clean up in the polls this year there's something wrong. could hear some White Zombie and Therapy? in there also with the classic Wildhearts quirkiness

all in all a fantastic album and one that will have you coming back for more and more.

Okay I had a chance to listen to it a few times <cough> and in exchange had a stab at writing a review. I didn't include the introduction here, but since it's not originally written for this board, it might still contain some unnecessary background explanation and formality (also I'm a non native, so if I wrote anything that is grammatically wrong or not understandable, do correct me - fanx).

The Wildhearts never were big innovators, at least not in the sense of being musically groundbreaking. They have no “Strawberry Fields Forever” in their repertoire. But then, they don’t have a “Revolution #9” either. They always excelled, however, at bundling together whatever floated their boat in the Rock’n’Roll world of the previous 15 to 20 years in a unique way – a kind of Listener’s Digest, one might say - instilling new freshness and vigour into familiar fare.

As ex-bassist Danny once said, Ginger seemed to “shit great songs”. If I may elaborate on this subtle observation, it seems as if The Wildhearts take their time in tasting and digesting new sonic fruits before they noisily excrete their versions. Occasionally, they do so all over the original inspirational source. From a great height.

Consequentially, the band more than ever incorporate nu-metallic sounds on their new album and echo the pop punk that got exceedingly popular in the late 90s. Still, it never seems like a bunch of old geezers trying to keep up but blends in perfectly with the trademark Wildhearts sound. The overall sense of modernisation on this record is not too far from Mötley Crüe’s “Saints of L.A.”, except that The Wildhearts are way better songsmiths.

Jacob Hansen’s huge yet sharp production preserves the usual massive punch of The Wildhearts’ sound while making the ingredients more distinguishable. The underlying growl of detuned guitars gives the album a common identity as well as providing a sense of menace for the lighter, poppier songs. The same goes for some of the – unfamiliarly omnipresent – keyboards and sound effects. While I’m unsure whether they might make the songs age less gracefully, they’re the most daring step The Wildhearts have taken sound-wise since their 1997 album Endless, Nameless, and I salute them for it.

Their covers album released last year showed a preference for simple sounding riffs peppered with rhythmic intricacies, and the band follows suit on Chutzpah. In fact, the shenanigans on the title track make it abundantly clear that simplicity is a choice for the band and not imposed by musical limitations. Drummer Ritch almost steals the performance on this album, weaving a thick magic percussion carpet throughout.

None of the songs outlasts its welcome and most stick to relatively simple structures. Whereas in a sizeable share of the previous oeuvre new melodies and licks would pop up at every corner of the track, making the aural ride equally audacious and chaotic, the riff count is slightly restrained here in favour of stringent and concise song writing.

Beside Ginger’s familiar versatile pipes and guitarist CJs melodic leads and harmonies, bassist Scott’s powerful singing and shouting are showcased on this record and enhance The Wildhearts already considerable vocal armoury, best heard on the stand out track “Low Energy Vortex” and the equally impressive funky stomper “Plastic Jebus”.

All of this contributes to the fresh, vivid feeling of the record. What truly makes Chutzpah shine, though, are once again the melodies. Ginger and co always had a knack for writing a pop hook, as shown here by “You Are Proof That Not All Women Are Insane” and “Mazel Tov Cocktail”, the latter essentially a song about the fear of being alone in the guise of a Stonesy party track with an endearing acoustic guitar solo. The signature tracks of this album, however, contrast waves of riffs with choruses that have an airy, almost dreamy nature - just set against a rock background - to stunning effect. The intro to “Low Energy Vortex” allows a glance at the great ballad that the chorus melody could have become. And as the mood swinging title track, after lashing out like a crazed beast at everything that comes too close, sails away in a Guns’n’Rosesque fashion, your finger already hovers over the repeat button.

After nigh on 20 years, The Wildhearts keep changing while sticking to their guns at the same time, which is fitting for a band that has both Bowie and The Ramones among its musical idols. They have fully deserved the status and recognition of either. Get yourself some Chutzpah and tell your friends to do the same.